Stop Letting Your Thoughts Control You | Steven Furtick | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Stop Letting Your Thoughts Control You

Elevation Church • Jun 30, 2026 • 25 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this sermon, Pastor Steven Furtick encourages believers not to be ruled by every negative or fearful thought that passes through their minds. Drawing from David's life in 1 Samuel and Psalm 34, he shows how David experienced fearful thoughts about Saul, yet chose to speak God's praise with his mouth. Believers are called to implement a spiritual filter or 'dump button' between their thoughts, feelings, and actions—choosing to praise God by faith for who He is and what He has already taught them, trusting that present struggles are just future testimonies in the making.

Themes

Controlling Your ThoughtsFaith vs. FearPraising God in Hard TimesDelayed PraiseGod's Sovereignty & TrainingTrusting God's Promises

Key Points

1.
Reflecting on personal experience in the light of God's goodness transforms life's circumstances into blessings over time.
2.
Praise is a deliberate decision to glorify God and speak about His goodness rather than elevating our complaints to people who cannot help us.
3.
Even when our minds tell us fearful or negative thoughts, we do not have to bow down to or worship every thought that enters our head.
4.
Not everything that goes through your mind needs to come out of your mouth; believers need to implement a delay between their thoughts and speech.
5.
Like a broadcast delay in radio or television, taking time before speaking allows us to censor unhelpful thoughts and choose soul-level praise.
6.
What feels like a trapped or difficult situation in the moment is often God's covert training ground for future victories.
7.
God might already be taking care of the very thing you are afraid of long before you see the outcome.
8.
When facing current trials ('THIS'), believers should anchor their trust in 'THAT'—the faithful things God has already taught them and brought them through in past valleys.

Sermon Moments

“The value of personal experience is worthless if not reflected upon in the light of God's goodness.”

“Not everything that goes through your mind needs to come out of your mouth.”

“I don't worship my thoughts. I don't even trust thoughts... Thoughts are thoughts, like clouds are clouds, like rain is rain. Let it pass over.”

“Do I need to put a 7-second delay from when it comes to my mind and when it comes out of my mouth?”

“In radio, they call that the dump button... Can I have a dump button like a live dump button in my life?”

“David saw that 16 months as a time where he was trapped. God saw it as training.”

“TODAY'S THIS IS JUST A THAT IN THE MAKING.”

“I'm not praising him for a feeling. I'm praising him by faith. This is a faith praise.”

This Week

Pause and take a 7-second delay before reacting or speaking when fearful or angry thoughts enter your mind.

Practice using a mental 'dump button' to eliminate ungodly or anxious thoughts before they become spoken words.

Write down past ways God has delivered or taught you ('THAT') to remind yourself of His faithfulness during current trials ('THIS').

Speak God's promises and praise out loud even when your thoughts and feelings are telling you the opposite.

Stop taking your deep marital or personal grievances to people who are not in a position or equipped to resolve them.

Reframe your current difficult season from feeling trapped to viewing it as God's intentional spiritual training ground.

Set aside dedicated time each day to reflect on life's experiences through the lens of God's goodness and grace.

Remember This

Not everything that goes through your mind needs to come out of your mouth, so choose to praise God for His proven faithfulness rather than worshipping your passing thoughts.

A Challenge for You

Thank Him today for what will only make sense later. Give Him a praise right now for what you can't point to, for what you can't prove, for what you can't verbalize, and for what you can't yet understand.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.